


That's How You Know

by TheAuthor44



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Holiday Fic Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAuthor44/pseuds/TheAuthor44
Summary: It's Christmastime, and Zoey has a very important question on her mind. Just how do you know when you're in love?
Relationships: Zoey Clarke & Max Richman, Zoey Clarke/Max Richman
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24
Collections: Clarkeman Holiday Fic Exchange 2020





	That's How You Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ladylillianrose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylillianrose/gifts).



> Happy Holidays!  
> This is a gift for the lovely LadyLillianRose!  
> I hope you like it!
> 
> So - this is a future AU where Mitch was never sick, but pretty much all the other events of the show happen including Zoey getting her powers. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was that time of year again in the Clarke household. The personalized stockings were hung by the chimney with care, garland covered just about every surface it could find, and homemade ornaments hung on practically every branch of the Christmas tree. After eating enough food for a small army, the original Clarke clan and their significant others sat around the living room waiting for their stomachs to deflate. Assuming the usual positions: Mitch was in his spot at the end of the couch, with Maggie snuggled in his side; David, after putting Baby Peter to sleep, joined Emily on the loveseat; and Zoey and Max were in their usual place on the floor beside the coffee table. The only distinction from years past was that, instead of sitting crossed legged next to each other, this year Max and Zoey we’re officially together so their arrangement was a little more intimate. Max was leaning back on his arms, with Zoey sitting between his outstretched legs, using his chest as a pillow. 

“This is great, isn’t it? The whole family together.” Mitch remarked.

“Dad, we’re together all the time.” Zoey replied.

“True, but this time we decorated. Great dinner hon, you outdid yourself.”

“Thank you. But, you say that every year.” Maggie said.

“Does that make it any less true?”

As Zoey watched her parents be ridiculously in love, she couldn’t help but wonder how something like that happened. Even though she was insanely happy with Max, she didn’t really know how it worked - the whole  _ knowing  _ that you’re in love thing. Being a woman of science, she always liked proof to her conclusions. But, since getting the magical ability to hear people sing their innermost thoughts, she’s had to adjust her perception a bit. She knew Max loved her … well because he sang the words to her on multiple occasions; but she had yet to say or sing them back to him herself. So, that night, she was a woman on a mission.

“Hey, Dad? When did you know that you were in love with Mom? I mean, I know the whole ‘M _ oondance’  _ story, but when did you  _ know _ ?” Zoey asked her father.

“Hmm, do I get extra points for saying it was love at first sight?” Mitch replied, looking to his wife.

“You do not.” Maggie jested.

“Okay, well then, let me think about this.” After a moment, it looked as though a lightbulb had popped up over his head. “It was after about a month of dating, we were having dinner. We ordered chinese food, and your mother, without saying a word, took the snow peas out of my lo mein. And all I could do was look at her, dumbfounded, because I had never mentioned that I didn’t like them. She noticed it all on her own. At that moment, I just knew. I knew I had found someone special. Someone who would take care of me, and has been doing an excellent job of it for the past 40 years.”

“I can’t believe that’s what it was. After all this time, all it took was snow peas for you to fall in love with me?” Maggie asked, obviously having never heard that story before.

“I really hate snow peas.” Mitch joked, giving his loving wife a much deserved kiss.

“How about you Mom?” David asked.

“Um, I don’t know. I don’t think there’s just one moment I can point to. I fell in love with your father over all the moments, without realizing it.”

“But if you had to pick one?” Zoey asked, as she needed more conclusive data.

“Well, I remember the first moment I thought about marrying you. It was after you had just met my parents, and Grandpa was so hard on him. Your Dad is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met, always calm under pressure. But that night my father had him sweating like an inmate on death row. When I saw that, I knew how much he cared about getting in good with my parents, and it just touched my heart.”

“I knew I loved Emily when our hands touched reaching for the same textbook in the library.” David said, without even being asked.

“You did not.” Emily replied.

“I did! I had seen you around, but when we both reached for that book I got to talk to you for the first time. I probably wouldn’t have gotten up the nerve without some kind of excuse. And from that first conversation, I was hooked.”

“So you fell in love with my mind?”

“That… and I’ve always had a thing for librarian buns. You always used to wear those during first year.”

“I found that the nape of the neck is a very overlooked part of the body. And I wasn’t about to be one of those women who gave it all away with a tight skirt or low cut top.”

“How about me? When did you first know you loved me?” David asked.

“The jury is still out.” Emily said, but David gave her a look until she said the real answer. “Fine … it was after our six month anniversary. I was sick, and I knew you had something special planned, but as soon as you heard me sneeze over the phone, you cancelled everything and came to my apartment to take care of me. It felt nice to be taken care of, rather than having to take care of everything myself for once.”

“Aww babe, you totally love me.”

“For now.” Emily said, before giving a sly smile and leaning in for a kiss.

After hearing her family’s testimonies, Zoey only felt more confused. Max had done all of those things - he paid attention, he’d stepped out of his comfort zone, they did nothing but talk for the first five years, and he’d taken care of her more times than she could count. Yet Zoey still wasn’t 100% sure if what she felt was actually love. Aside from things getting more  _ physical _ , her relationship with Max hadn’t really changed all that much. Excusing herself, Zoey went to her old bedroom and sat down on the bed. Her train of thought was deep, when a knock on the door pulled her from the NASA poster she had been staring at on the wall.

“Can I come in?” Max asked.

“Of course.” Zoey replied, moving over so he could join her on the bed. 

“Is this the first time you’ve had a boy in your bedroom? Because if so, I’m honored to be the first.” When that didn’t get more than a small smile, Max knew he had his work cut out for him. “Okay, what is going on with you? Are you alright?”

“I’ve just been thinking, wondering really, about how you know exactly…”

“...when you’re in love?” Max said, finishing her thought.

“Yeah. How'd you know?”

“Context clues helped a little.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They sat in a moment of silence that seemed never ending. Zoey knew there was a clear response she could give then, but didn’t want it to seem forced or inorganic. 

“You know, it’s okay if you can’t say it yet. I know I haven’t…”

“But you did - you sang it.” Zoey pointed out.

“That doesn’t count though, does it? Because that happened way before we even got together, and I didn’t exactly know I was saying it.”

“It’s okay if you can’t say it either. I know I put you through a lot with my powers, and the whole Simon thing.”

“Zoey, I would say it in a heartbeat if I thought you were ready to hear it. Just because I don’t say it, doesn’t mean I don’t feel it. I know how verbal declarations of love freak you out, so I didn’t want to push it.” Max said, seemingly unable to make eye contact. Instead he was staring at their joined hands on the bed.

Suddenly, Zoey felt a rush in her chest. Without thinking about it for another second, she leaned forward and kissed Max with everything she had. Remembering their first kiss, Zoey decided that maybe her Mom had been right - there was no one moment where you fall in love with someone. But still, this was one hell of a moment. 

THE END

  
  
  
  
  


  
  
JUST KIDDING ;P

As she and Max walked to the car, leftovers in hand, Zoey looked around. The empty street was glittering with Christmas lights, under a clear winter sky, and she could think of no better time to make another moment. Without saying a word, she took the container from Max and threw it on the hood of the car before taking his hand and pulling him close.

“Zoey?”

“Thank you, for what you said before. I was … spiraling, a bit. But, like always, you knew what to say to bring me back down to earth.”

“Can I go ahead and put that on my resume under special skills?”

“I love you.” Zoey said, taking a deep breath. Max looked absolutely flustered. “Isn’t now when you’re supposed to go ahead and say it back to me? ‘In a heartbeat’ were your exact words, I believe.”

“Sorry, I think my heart just …  _ stopped,  _ for a moment there.” The smile that took over his face told Zoey all she needed to know. Max grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her, leaning her against the car as he did so.

“Okay, but, can you actually say it?” Zoey asked in-between kisses, “I kind of need a verbal confirmation…”

“God, I love you.” Max said, with an inflection that was both awed and a little bit annoyed at the same time.

“That’s more like it.” Zoey replied, as they continued kissing under the moonlight. 


End file.
